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Review – Old Man Logan #1 (Secret Wars Tie-In)

The fan favorite dystopian future that Mark Millar first created nearly a decade ago returns here as Battleworld’s Wasteland in Old Man Logan #1. Was the new chapter worth the wait? Only one way to find out. Let’s do this!

Brian Michael Bendis and Andrea Sorrentino continue the story of a much older Logan in a future where most of the heroes you know and love have been defeated by the world’s most powerful villains. Logan is one of the very few good guys left, but prior to this point in the story, he hadn’t played the part of a hero for decades, and he had vowed never to unleash his claws again, but then he was pushed over the edge.

Before we get into this, if you haven’t read the original Old Man Logan story arc (Wolverine, Volume 3 #66-#72, and Wolverine: Giant Size Old Man Logan), do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s hands down one of the best Wolverine stories in the past ten years, and it will also give you the deeper back story that will make this series even more fulfilling. If you haven’t read it and don’t want to, there is a Cliff Notes version on the first page of this comic… but that’s kind of cheating yourself if you ask me.

Ok, done babbling. In Old Man Logan #1, Bendis begins his story not too long after the end of the original arc, with a reinvigorated Logan/Wolverine infiltrating an organized crime base where all of the gang members dress in Daredevil costumes. There’s a scene early on here, where Logan corners one of the members and asks him about the uniform, and if the guy even knows who this was. That scene shows me that Bendis gets this version of Wolverine. He understands why he put his claws away in the first place, and he also understand why he finally decided to pop them again. Good Wolverine stories are when he’s written as the loner struggling to fit into a team environment, but the best Wolverine stories are when he’s written as embracing that loner, wandering samurai image. He’s a noble spirit with a code of honor who is constantly struggling to hold back the animal rage within. Bendis hits that image perfectly here.

Andrea Sorrentino’s art here is both brilliant and subtle. There are little touches that show just how desparate the people and places in this version of reality are, and then there are sweeping splash pages of desert landscapes that hammer that point home in a spectacular fashion. If Ultimate End is shaping up to be the big city disaster epic, then Old Man Logan looks like it’s going to be quiet, low-key western of the Secret Wars event, in a really, really good kind of way.

In conclusion, this series looks like it’s going to be one of the best parts of this event. So far it’s the only tie-in that has me really excited to see what comes in the next issues. It’s also really good to see Wolverine back again. You should definitely be reading this series.